Farmboy
by BlazeStarre
Summary: Before he was turned into a wolf, before he met Midna, before he saved Hyrule from Zant and Ganondorf, he was a humble villager from Ordon. A story about Link growing up. preTP
1. Chapter 1

I've seen several postTP stories, but I found that a preTP story would be interesting. But I haven't seen any. Link's background, from what little there was, seemed very interesting to me. So, this idea came to me. There won't be any big plot. So, I guess you could consider this a bunch of oneshots. There will be a mix of fluff and drama, but mostly it'll be fluff. I'll try to keep it in order, so once I get to when TP actually starts, there won't be anymore chapters. I also won't update this too often, as Thousand Year Hero is my first priority.

This chapter I don't think is very good. The first two sections I wrote late at night, between midnight and two. Then I was distracted near the end.

* * *

**A Boy Named Link**

In the southern forest of the kingdom of Hyrule lay the small farming village of Ordon. Only a few families lived and worked in the village, but they were a hard working group of people; many started to help with simple chores at the young age of five. The villagers were close and considered each other to be one big family instead of individual ones. Though the village was well off and very hospitable, it was secluded from the rest of Hyrule. Few residents left the village and surrounding forest. The people even lacked the distinguishing long, pointed ears of the Hylians, instead owning small, rounded ones.

All the people lacked pointed ears except for one family.

The family was a new addition to Ordon, moving from Hyrule's capitol, Castle Town. The family consisted of a wife and husband who were expecting their first child to arrive soon. There were only a few weeks left until the due date when the couple arrived at the village.

Though the wife, Amena, was heavy with the child, she still possessed a simple beauty that made the other women of the village slightly envious. Her dark blonde hair flowed down her back, stopping halfway, though she normally kept it up in a bun. Her clear blue eyes shone with kindness to all and her gentle personality made her well liked throughout the small village.

The Ordonians were polite enough not to ask what had brought the couple to move away from the busy city and go to the quiet village. They knew the husband, Brion, was friends with the young blacksmith Rusl, though they knew no more than that. Nevertheless, they quickly accepted the couple into their village and helped Amena all they could until the child came.

Brion and Rusl stood in Rusl's workshop, making new horseshoes for the few horses at Ordon's ranch. It was mid-morning, the two men sweating slightly from the raging fire in the room. Rusl was doing most of the work, being a few years older and more experienced than Brion. He did his best to teach his younger friend the skills necessary to be a blacksmith, though Brion was not the most talented blacksmith in Hyrule. But he was a hard worker and persistent.

That morning, Rusl noticed something was bothering his friend. He was distracted and often looked out the workshop's window. Rusl sighed. "Worried about Amena?"

Brion looked over at the older man, running a hand through his light brown hair. "A little. She's due any day now. What if something goes wrong? What if she has a miscarriage or something is wrong with the baby? Or what if she doesn't…" He trailed off, not wanting to think about the possibility of his wife not making it through childbirth.

"Brion, calm down. Everything will be fine," Rusl said, trying to comfort his panicking friend. "Uli is with her. She'll get Shannon if something happens." Shannon was the wife of the mayor, Bo, and had a daughter who was a few months old.

This did little to comfort Brion, but he sighed and shook his head, knowing his friend was right. "Sorry, Rusl. I don't know why I'm even acting like this."

"You're a first time father. I'm sure that when Uli and I have our first child I'll be in the same state as you are now, and you'll be the one telling me to calm down." Brion smiled and gave a soft chuckle. "Good, you're smiling. Now, instead of thinking about any complications, let's think of the joys of having a child."

"Of course. At least he'll have a playmate his own age."

"Oh?" Rusl raised an eyebrow. "You've decided that you want a boy? What if you get a girl instead?"

"Well, I don't care if it is a boy or girl, though Amena said she had a strong feeling it would be a boy."

"In that case, maybe he and Ilia will get married when they grow up."

"Let's get through the actual birth before we start thinking about marriage, all right?"

Rusl chuckled. "Let's just hope he's not as clumsy at farm work as you are."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!"

Before Rusl could reply, his wife, Uli, burst through the door, out of breath. She had her hand on her chest, trying to catch her breath. Rusl ran over to his wife, Brion close behind.

"Uli! What's wrong?" Rusl looked at Brion, the two exchanging worried looks. "Did something happen to Amena?"

Uli nodded her head a little before replying. "She's gone into labor," she said in between breaths. "I need to find Shannon."

"She should be at home. I'll go with you. Brion, stay put and don't panic." Rusl looked at Brion, giving him a strict look. He and Uli left before Brion could protest.

* * *

Hours had passed since Uli had burst into the workshop. Brion paced at the base of the tall treehouse he and his wife lived in. Bo and Rusl stood with him, watching as the young man panicked. 

"Brion, calm down," Bo said, taking a hold on Brion's shoulders, stopping him. "You're going to kill the grass!"

"Brion, think about our conversation this morning. What did I say?"

Brion sighed. "Everything will be fine. But it's been nearly twelve hours! She went into labor in the morning and now the sun's setting. Is that normal?"

Bo chuckled, earning a glare from Brion. "Yes, it is. Shannon went through the same thing."

The men's conversation was interrupted by Amena's scream. Brion looked up at the balcony and dashed for the ladder. Rusl and Bo grabbed his arms, preventing him to move any farther. The young man struggled, but to no avail. The two older men were stronger and held on tightly to the panicking man.

"You have to calm down! You won't help her by rushing in there!"

Brion stopped struggling at these words, trying to catch his breath. Bo and Rusl loosened their grip on the young man, but they didn't let go incase of another outburst. Amena's screams continued, seeming to be never ending to her husband. He continued to look up at the balcony, worry never leaving his eyes.

The mayor and blacksmith of Ordon looked at each other, both wishing they could comfort their friend. But they knew the only thing that would accomplish that was if he could see his wife, safe and out of pain.

The screams that filled the air abruptly stopped, causing the two older men to look up. At this moment, Brion broke loose from their grip and sped up the ladder. Bo and Rusl acted quickly and followed him up and into the small house. Uli sat next to the bed on the left wall, holding Amena's limp hand. Shannon stood at the end of the bed, holding something bloody and was reaching down for a cloth. Amena herself looked exhausted. She was breathing hard and her hair was matted against her face, wet with sweat. Her eyes were closed, but they opened a bit when she sensed her husband's presence by her side.

Brion looked down worriedly, but his worry left as his wife smiled and looked over at Shannon. The thing she was holding was his baby. Their baby. It was wrapped in a blanket, still a bit bloody, but still cleaner now that Shannon had wiped the majority off. The older woman looked at the couple and smiled.

"Congratulations. You have a son." The two looked at each other and smiled. Shannon walked over to them and handed the baby to Brion. He looked down at his newborn son. From the small tuffs of hair growing on the boy's head, Brion could tell he would have the same blond hair as his mother. The boy opened his eyes and a clear blue gaze stared at his father's mud colored one.

"I think he's going to take after you," Brion said after a moment had passed. He handed his wife the baby. She looked into the boy's face, him looking up curiously at the woman now holding him. She gave a chuckle.

"You know, most babies are born with blue eyes and sometimes even blond hair! He could just as easily take after you," Amena said tiredly, not looking away from the infant.

"So, have you two thought up a name for him?" The two looked up at the small group that was watching them. Shannon had her arms crossed and a smile on her face, waiting for an answer. The couple looked at each other, small frowns on both their faces. The baby began grabbing his mother's hair while she looked at her husband. She finally turned back to answer.

"Well, no, we haven't-" Amena stopped, looking down at her son. Something about him had grabbed her attention while he played with her hair. She gently grabbed her son's small left hand. There, on the back of his hand, was the familiar triangle symbol that was spread all across Hyrule. It was placed on her son like a birthmark, and right then she knew what to name him.

"Amena? Are you all right?" She looked up as Brion placed his hand on her shoulder. She nodded.

"Yes. And I know what to name our son now, too."

"You do?" Brion looked at her curiously, wondering how she could figure out a name mere seconds after she was about to say she didn't have a clue. "Well, what is it?"

"Link," she simply stated. The four Ordonians glanced at each other. They had never heard of the name 'Link' before, but they would ask later, if at all. Brion also was a bit confused of the choice, but he simple smiled.

"Well, if that's what you want, then Link it is." The infant made giggle-like noise, as if he were agreeing on the choice. His parents chuckled. "I guess he likes it."

"Well, now that that's settled, can I go finish cleaning him now?" They looked up to see Shannon looking down at them, a commanding gaze now on her face. She pointed to Amena. "You need some rest. Brion, you can sleep at our home tonight. She needs to rest with no distractions to fully recover." She grabbed Link from his mother's grasp. "I'll take him down to the spirit spring. Now, everyone, out! Let this woman be."

No one could protest Shannon's strict tone and all immediately obeyed.

* * *

A week had passed since Link's birth. Amena was once again up and about in the village. However, the villagers still insisted that she do little work, as she now had an infant to look after and had yet to lose all the weight from her pregnancy. The woman would constantly protest, claiming she could work just as hard as well as take care of her son, but always she would lose the argument and end up with Shannon, doing simple chores such as laundry. 

Link and Shannon's daughter, Ilia, would always be with them. Ilia was born about four months before Brion and Amena arrived in Ordon and had begun to crawl when they did arrive. Though she did not understand who or what Link was, she was often found sitting next to his basket, looking at him with wide, green eyes. If the boy would fall asleep, Ilia would proceed to poke him, trying to see what he was and why he wasn't interested in her as well. It was when the infant girl did this that the two mothers would interfere, pulling her away from the basket and onto Shannon's lap. This was where she currently was, Shannon taking a small break to hold her daughter and Amena happily cleaning a blanket.

Shannon looked over at the basket were Link lay, slightly sighing as she gathered up the courage to ask a question that had been bothering her for the past week. "Amena, I don't mean to be rude or anything, so don't take this the wrong way, but why did you name your son Link? It's not exactly a common name."

Amena stopped washing the blanket, taking it out of the stream and placing it in an empty bucket. She then looked at Shannon, but had no look of anger. Instead, she had on a smile and seemed pleased to be asked. "Actually, Link was the name of my grandfather. I asked him a similar question when I was little."

"Oh?" The older woman raised an eyebrow, secretly glad that she was finally learning something about the young woman from the city. "And what did he say?"

"He explained that he was named after a legendary hero."

"You mean, the ancient hero? The same one?"

Amena bit her lower lip, thinking. She finally answered after a moment. "To me, the ancient hero is called the Hero of Time. That's what my grandfather told me. A boy named Link dressed in green traveled through time, saving Hyrule from an evil tyrant."

Shannon cocked her head a bit. "I've never heard of any time traveling in the legend. Are you sure he was talking about the same one?"

"I'm really not sure if he was. I've always assumed he was, but the story always held my interest. After I saw my son's birthmark, I remembered that story and, well, you know the rest."

"Birthmark? What birthmark?"

"Oh! You haven't seen it?" Amena gently picked up her son from the basket, being careful to not wake him. She took his left hand, allowing the older woman to look at it. Shannon furrowed her brow, not quite sure what to make of the triangle on the boy's hand. "It looks exactly like the Triforce. According to my grandfather, someone born with this mark will have a great destiny. He said the Hero of Time also had one."

Ilia began to struggle in her mother's arms, wanting down. Shannon held on tightly to her daughter. "That's an interesting legend. So, what do you think this little guy will do? Save a few damsels? Maybe slay a dragon or two?"

Both women laughed. Amena hugged her son, kissing his forehead. "I just hope he grows up happy. I don't really want him to grow up to be a warrior, but if it would make him happy, then so be it."

Shannon smiled. Link was lucky to have such a wonderful mother. She was sure he would turn out just as caring. She looked to the side for a moment, thinking, then decided to settle her curiosity. "Do you mind if I ask you another question?"

Amena smiled. "Of course not!"

"What brought you and your husband, barely adults, to Ordon? You lived in the city and then decide to move to such a secluded area. It just doesn't seem, well, uh, I don't know, normal, I guess?"

Amena chuckled. "I was wondering when someone would ask that. Brion may have lived in Castle Town his entire life, but I'm just a country girl. When I moved into Brion's home, I just felt trapped. It was too crowded. After we found out I was pregnant, we decided it would be best to raise a child out of the city. My family's ranch was out of the question. It was losing quite a lot of money when I married and my parents sold it and moved to Kakariko. Brion told me about Rusl and the village he came from and we decided that Ordon would be the best."

Shannon nodded, finally letting go of Ilia. The girl crawled over to Amena and Link and looked up. Link let out a yawn and opened his blue eyes. He looked around, focusing on his mother for a moment. He then let out a yelp when Ilia grabbed a hold to the boy's pointed ears, tears building up in his eyes.

"Ilia!" Shannon quickly grabbed her daughter, pulling her away from the now-bawling Link. Amena laughed, and Shannon soon joined in.

"I think we'll have our hands full with these two."

* * *

Soooo, yeah...

Oh, by the way, later chapters will have LinkxIlia fluff. So, don't be surprised and POed at me for letting Ilia be liked.


	2. Chapter 2

I'd like to thank the people who reviewed and placed this story on their alerts. It really means a lot to me!

Now, with this chapter, I was really comfortable with this up till half way, then I felt, "Eh, this... is... uh..." Yeah... It got kinda weak starting about half way. Meh. I still like it.

* * *

**A Family's Song**

A baby's scream pierced through the black night. It came from a tall house. Inside the house, Amena and Brion lay in bed, awakened by their son's cries. Both were still, expecting the other to get up and spend the rest of the night calming down the baby. After a few seconds of silence between the two, Amena finally sighed and spoke.

"Please, Brion, I'm exhausted. Can you take care of him tonight?"

"No, I did it last night. It's your turn." Brion yawned and when he didn't say anything else, Amena assumed he had fallen back asleep. She groaned as she crawled from under the blanket, drowsy from the few hours of sleep she had received.

The wooden floor creaked as the woman drug her feet across the small room. She slowly pulled herself up two ladders to reach a platform where Link's cradle sat. She looked down at the wailing boy, sighed once more, and picked him up. As soon as he felt his mother's gentle touch, Link's screams quieted down to soft whimpers. Amena chuckled softly.

"You silly boy. Was all that screaming just to get some attention?" As if to answer her question, Link's whimpers stopped and looked up at his mother with his blue eyes. "You're so adorable, you know that? But you have got to stop waking us up in the middle of the night." She knew her son didn't understand a word that came out of her mouth, but she felt that if she stopped talking, she would fall asleep on her feet.

_There must be an easier way to get him to sleep than to just hold him all night, _she thought to herself. The logical answer would be to sing or hum a lullaby, and Amena had tried that. However, she did not inherit any singing abilities from her mother or grandmother, both known for their wonderful singing voices. If either sang a lullaby, any child would fall into a peaceful sleep for hours. If Amena sang any song, Link would scream even louder than before.

Amena bounced on her feet, trying to rock her son to sleep. She tried to hum a bit, but it didn't seem to reach the boy's ears and the hums soon turned into a yawn. She silently begged Link to fall asleep. In a few minutes, the baby's eyes began to get heavy, sliding down his eyes. He let out a long yawn, letting his eyes to close completely. His mother sighed as she heard his even breathing, telling her he was asleep. She placed him back into the cradle and headed back to her own bed, ready to collapse back into sleep.

* * *

Link giggled as his mother bent down, filling a basket with cucco feed. The baby was set securely in a sling across Amena's torso. While her son was filled with energy, Amena was not. She stifled a yawn for the umpteenth that morning. Link, as young as he was, was oblivious to his mother's weariness. Instead, his attention was on the flock of birds gathered around Amena's feet. He reached downwards, trying to touch one white cucco. Amena pushed his hand back into the sling, causing the boy to switch his attention to her.

"With how tired you are, you better watch out for him doing that again. He might fall while you're yawning," said Shannon. Both women were in charge of taking care of the cuccos, which included feeding them in the morning. Ilia sat in a sling around Shannon's torso, similar to Amena and Link. Normally, the baby girl would toddle around her mother's feet, playing with the gentle cuccos. However, the birds got extremely aggressive during feeding, making it dangerous for any child to be around.

Amena glanced at her friend as she tossed some feed. "I can't help it. Link has been waking Brion and me up almost every night for the past month."

"That's nothing unusual. Any baby does that. Ilia did. Bo and I probably got less than fifteen hours of sleep a week sometimes. He'll grow out of it." Shannon tossed some feed to the side, distracting a cucco from attacking a fellow bird.

"Well, it's strange. For the first two months or so, he only woke us up about once a week. Now, it's just…" Amena trailed off, letting out a sigh that turned into yet another yawn.

Shannon put her hand on her hip and observed the younger woman. After a few seconds, she finally said, "Well, have you tried singing a lullaby? Or even humming one?"

Amena nodded slowly, frowning slightly. "Unfortunately, my singing lacks any skill and talent. It just makes Link scream louder. And humming seems to not affect him in any way."

The older woman shook her head. "Don't be so pessimistic. It can't be that bad."

"Oh, it is. I didn't inherit my mother's singing. My cousin once paid me fifteen rupees when I was younger so I wouldn't sing while within earshot." Amena let out a short chuckle at the memory.

"Is there another way for you to do a lullaby, if you're so insecure about singing one?"

"Well…" She put her index finger on her chin, thinking about it. "I was taught how to play the ocarina by my grandfather. But my old ocarina is with my parents in Kakariko, so the skills aren't really useful now."

Shannon had a thoughtful look on her face as she said, "Maybe not. I have an idea that might work." She and Amena threw the last of the feed on the ground, the cuccos all flocking around the food. "Follow me." She walked across the bridge over the small creek, Amena not far behind. They walked passed Ordon's only shop and Amena's home. They ended up at the Spirit Spring. Shannon pointed to a strange plant. "See that?"

Amena nodded. "What is it, exactly?"

"I'm not sure the real name, but we call it horse grass, because it's shaped like a horseshoe. It's pretty rare, from what I heard, in the rest of Hyrule. You can find it a lot of spots in Ordona." Amena raised an eyebrow, still not understanding why the horse grass was important. "See, the stem of the grass is hallow and similar to an ocarina's mouthpiece. So, of course, you can use it as a whistle."

"Really?" Amena bent down and picked one blade of the "grass." It was indeed shaped like a horseshoe, an inch long stub sticking out from the curve of the shape where it would attach to the actual grass. She put her mouth on the stub and gently blew. A sweet sounding whistle was produced. She lowered the plant from her mouth and looked at it, clearly impressed. Link looked at the plant, curious of this new object that made noise.

"The only problem with these is they're a plant. Eventually they'll wilt and you'll have to get a new one. Not very practical if you want to have a musical hobby, but it's good enough for your purpose." Shannon looked at her friend, again testing her new "discovery." She seemed to already have figured out how to change to different pitches, allowing her to play simple songs. "You caught on to that fast. I personally could never do it, no matter how hard I tried."

Amena stopped her playing, moving the plant away from her lips but not lowering it. "My grandfather always said I had a gift for the ocarina, so I guess this is just natural for me."

Shannon gave a slight nod. "That probably has something to do with it. So, do you know what lullaby you're going to use? You should probably see if he likes it."

Instead of answering, Amena once again place the stem in her mouth. She blew a few notes, trying to find to correct starting one. When she did, the song went into three descending notes. The music was soothing, causing Shannon to sway a little. Both of the babies yawned, fighting their heavy eyelids. As the song came to a stop, soft breathing was heard from the two infants, telling the mothers they were asleep.

Shannon stared at her friend in amazement. "I've never seen any song do this before," she muttered, just loud enough for Amena to hear.

The younger woman shrugged. "The song… it's not a lullaby, but it's special. It always calmed the ranch animals, and my cousins and me, for that matter. I actually used to think it was magical." She chuckled at this.

Shannon shook her head, smiling. "You continue to amaze me."

Before they could continue their conversation, they heard two people enter the spring's clearing. It was Brion and Rusl. Brion was holding his arm, not completely hiding the red burn. He had a smile on his face, though it was mixed with pain and embarrassment. Amena ran up to her husband.

"Brion, what happened?"

Brion gave a nervous laugh. "Well, it's kinda a funny story…" His wife raised an eyebrow and turned to Rusl. Rusl sighed.

"He really wanted to try and make a sword, so I let him, despite my better judgment. He wasn't paying much attention and some of the sparks landed on his arm. He wouldn't wear the gloves."

"Brion!" Amena yelled loudly, turning to Brion. Link shifted in his sleep. His mother lowered her voice to avoid waking him. She then proceeded to punch her husband on his good arm. "What were you thinking? You can hardly make horseshoes, much less a sword. And without gloves?"

"Amena, calm down! I just thought-"

"Thought? You couldn't have been thinking anything sane. I don't care if you're a swordsman, you can't just make a sword when you've only been working as a blacksmith for a few months!"

"Amena, just let me explain!"

"Oh, I can't wait to hear this."

"I thought if I could make a normal sword, I could make a toy sword for Link when he's older."

Amena's angry expression softened. She then hugged her husband tightly with one arm as to avoid crushing her son. "Aw! That's so sweet, Brion. But it was still stupid!" She hit his arm again, but this time half-heatedly. She turned to Rusl. "You brought a cloth and bandages, right?"

"Of course." The two walked to the spring's edge. Shannon and Rusl told them they would go ahead back to the village. Amena dipped the cloth in the cool water, wiping the burn, cooling it off.

"What are you doing here, anyways?" Brion looked at his wife as she wrapped the bandages around his arm.

"Shannon told me about this grass that can be like a musical instrument. I think we'll be able to sleep at night."

"So, no more of your singing attempts?"

Amena rolled her eyes. "Of course. And I think Link will be pleased about it, too."

As if to answer her, Link woke up, laughing and reaching up for his mother. Both his parents laughed. Brion reached over and picked him up.

"I guess he's relieved about it."

* * *

Okay, weird ending, I know. I just didn't know how else to end it. 


	3. Chapter 3

Oh man, I'm sorry for the long wait! I did not have a lot of time to work on this, and when I did I had trouble continuing. It's not even the best or longest of chapters I've written. Though, I've noticed that I have a tendency to finish a chapter late at night. o.O

I want to thank all of you readers for enjoying this! Seriously, I hardly expected to get so many people to like this story. I won't say anymore, just go on and read the long awaited third chapter.

* * *

**Troubles of Childcare**

Link toddled around, looking over his shoulder every few seconds. He scanned to area in front of him, looking for something. His eyes stopped at a fairly large rock sitting a few inches away from the stream that ran through Ordon. He smiled and giggled, running awkwardly to the rock and around to the other side. He promptly sat down and waited.

"Ilia, what are you doing?" Someone asked from behind the rock.

"Looking for Link," said a young girl's voice. "We playing hide n' seek!"

"Well, have fun," the other said, clearly amused. Link looked around the rock, trying to still stay hidden. He watched as the new shopkeeper, the chubby Sera, walked away to her shop. The toddler giggled as his friend began to walk away, looking for him. He didn't notice the girl sneak behind him.

"Got 'cha!" Ilia tackled Link, causing both of them to tumble into the stream. They began to scramble out of the shallow water.

"Ilia, Link!" The toddlers looked up to see Shannon running towards them. They put on their best innocent faces. Shannon put her hands on her hips and a stern look. "What happened?"

"She did it!" Link pointed to Ilia.

"Nuh-uh!" Ilia stuck her tongue out at the younger boy. "You tripped me, poopy head!"

"Ilia, it's not nice to call people mean names," Shannon said. She shook her head and then grabbed one hand of each child. "Let's get you two dried off. Then you can tell me what happened." She led the two children to her home.

Link and Ilia had quickly become the jewels of the village following their births. All the villagers, especially the younger generation, had taken part in raising the children, although Shannon was officially in charge of watching them during the day. Once Link had reached the age of two, Amena had decided to help out at Ordon's ranch, though she would often come back down to check on her son.

Although everyone cared greatly for the toddlers, they all agreed the two were too mischievous for their own good. Events similar to falling into the stream occurred several times a week, causing much frustration for the parents.

Shannon sighed as she began to dry off the toddlers, starting with Ilia. She sighed and asked, "So, what happened?"

Ilia pointed over to Link. "He tripped me!"

Her mother sighed. "Link, is that true?"

The boy furiously shook his head. "Nuh-uh! She pushed me!" The two toddlers glared at each other, sticking out their tongues. Shannon rubbed her temples. She wasn't in the mood for this.

"Link, it's not nice to trip people. And Ilia, it's not nice to push people. But more importantly, one of you is lying, and lying is wrong. Do you understand?" Neither toddler answered and just continued to glare at one another. Shannon held back a growl of frustration. Children could be so difficult at times.

There was a knock and the door opened.

"Shannon?" Amena walked in, slightly dirty from her ranch work. Link looked up, the glare being replaced by a wide smile.

"Mama!" He ran over to his mother, stumbling a bit. Amena kneeled down to be closer to her damp son's height. She fingered the boy's wet hair, raising an eyebrow.

"Link, why are you wet?" He pointed over to Ilia.

"Ila tripped me!"

"Nuh-uh!" was the reply from the other child.

Amena sighed and looked up at Shannon. The older woman shook her head. "I don't know what exactly happened. All I know is someone pushed or tripped the other and they both landed in the stream."

Amena stood up, hands on her hips, and looked down at her son. "Link, lying is bad. You're not lying, are you?"

Link shook his head. "No! She tripped me!"

Ilia pouted and crossed her arms. "Tattletale!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are-"

"Stop it!" Link and Ilia ceased their arguing and looked up at Shannon. She had her arms crossed, looking at the two sternly. "Ilia, it's not polite to call people names. It's also not right to lie about anything, even if you get in trouble."

Ilia began to pout, her eyes watering up. Her mother frowned. "Aw, Ilia, don't do that." She attempted to hug the girl, but Ilia stepped out of the way, crossing her arms. Shannon looked at Amena, not knowing what to do.

"Ila!"

Ilia, still pouting, looked over at Link. The boy spread out his arms and proceeded to wrap them around his older friend. Ilia quickly changed her frown to a smile, hugging him back. The two mothers watching looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"To be young again…" Amena said, sighing. "Have you two learned your lesson?"

The two toddlers nodded quickly. The mothers knew their children probably did not learn and the event would repeat it self, but for the moment all was well.

"So," Shannon began as the children started to amuse themselves, "anything interesting happen at the ranch?"

"Oh, just same old stuff. A goat did almost knock down a fence earlier, so I guess that's a bit interesting."

Shannon giggled. "A bit? What happened that could have possibly encouraged the thing to do that?"

"Fado. He's very sweet, but certainly does not have his father's skill for handling animals." Amena shook her head.

"Ah, of course." Shannon nodded in understanding. Fado was just a few years younger than Amena and was the ranch owner's son. He had a large heart, however he was quite well known in the village to be a klutz. He would often unwittingly anger the goats, causing them to charge.

As the two mothers continued to talk, they didn't notice their two children sneak out the door. Link quietly shut the door and bolted, Ilia right behind. They both laughed, attracting the attention of the adults outside.

"Can't catch me!" Link shouted at Ilia, who was a few feet behind him. This made the girl increase her speed, determined to catch up. They made their way through the small village, running across the bridge and dirt path. They raced through the path that led to Link's home. As they reached the clearing, Link stopped suddenly, causing Ilia to run into him.

"Why'd you stop?" The girl asked angrily. Link just pointed in response.

In the middle of the clearing were Brion and Rusl, each holding a wooden stick the ended with a point. They seemed to be trying to hit each other with the sticks, but the other would block it with his own stick. This was combined with complicated footwork that captured the toddlers' attention. Soon, however, Link's father soon pushed Rusl to the ground and held the stick's point to his neck. Both men were breathing hard and, for a moment, said nothing. Rusl then started to laugh and was helped up by Brion.

"For someone who hasn't practice in awhile," Rusl said, "you still make me look like an amateur."

"I wouldn't say I haven't practice in awhile…" Brion trailed off.

"You've been practicing behind your wives back? I wish you luck when she finds out, my friend."

"Well, I've got to stay in shape." Brion looked at his friend hopefully. He sighed when the other man just shook his head. "You're right. She'll never let me come up with an excuse. I can't wait until Link's old enough to- Link!"

Link jumped at his name being called out. His father came over, kneeling down in front of the toddlers. "Where's Shannon, you two?"

"Home," they answered simultaneously.

"Do they know you're here?" Both shook their heads. Brion sighed. "Did you two see what we were doing?" Two nods. "Oh, Amena is not going to be happy."

"You're right about that."

Brion snapped his head up to find his wife in front of him, arms crossed and tapping her foot. The man stood up, putting on his best innocent grin. "Honey! How's the ranch?"

"Better than you'll be after you tell me why you have that practice sword."

"Well, uh, I, uh…" Amena raised an eyebrow as her husband stammered on. He finally sighed. "'Mena, you can't just expect me to just stop! I'm a swordsman, I was taught to train hard. It's a habit. Besides, what was it your grandfather always said he liked about me…?"

A small smile crept on Amena's face. "Your sword skills, yes, I remember. But couldn't you do it without a real person? You do have a small son, you know."

"Oh, speaking of our son, why did you let him wonder off?"

"Excuse me? Don't change the subject! Besides, Shannon is in charge of watching the two."

"Hey!" Shannon, who had come up next to Amena, shouted in surprise. "Don't put me in the middle of this little spouse argument of yours."

"You're still down here, Amena, not at the ranch. So, you must be checking on Link. Shannon's not the type to just let children run around. You two probably got caught up in your female conversations."

Amena gaped at her husband. "Well, I, uh…"

"Mama?" The couple looked down to see Link tugging on his mother's skirt. "Why you and Daddy fight?" Tears seemed to be welling up in his eyes, but he was holding them back.

Amena and Brion looked at each other, and then back at their son. Amena picked up the toddler, wiping a stray tear that escaped his eye away from his face. "Link, we're sorry. Sometimes, Daddy and I just get a little, uh, angry at each other. But it doesn't mean anything. You understand?" Link nodded. "Good. Now, what are we going to do about you're fighting habits?" She looked at her husband.

"What?"

"No more live people! Get some kind of dummy to hack at."

"May I suggest something, Amena?" Rusl finally spoke up. "Why not build a scarecrow? If it breaks, it wouldn't take too much work to build another one."

"That's a wonderful idea, Rusl! But still, I'm taking your sword until it's built." She snatched her husband's sword from his hand and gave it to Shannon. "Hide it."

"That's not fair, 'Mena!" Amena smirked and just turned to walk away.

"You better start doing you job," she yelled back at him. Brion sighed and put his hand to his forehead. Rusl gave a smile of sympathy.

"Come on, Ilia," Shannon said to her daughter. The two followed Amena back to their home to continue the day.

* * *

Again, sorry for the long wait. Yes, Link really does call Ilia 'Ila.' That's not a typo. 

By the way, I really do not know that much about little kids. How Link and Ilia are acting are more of how I remember little kids act like, if that made any sense. So, I'm kinda getting into a child's mindset to write this. But any info you have on children would be helpful to me! I'd also like to thank Warrior's Creed for informing me on my serious lack of knowledge on newborns.


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